Valley Center Western Days

Memorial Weekend is always Western Days in Valley Center.
We went to the rodeo on Saturday. Always a good time.

Coleman's first rodeo!

Women on Target

 Luke's mom is a board member of the Oceanside Republican Women Federation.
They do a fundraiser called Women on Target.
It was so much fun!



We went to Escondido Fish & Game Association's shooting range and got trained one-on-one to shoot a few different guns.  So fun!

First I went to the rifle range

This was my coach...

Then to the pistol range:

Then they provided a delicious lunch for everyone!

After a fun afternoon of shooting guns, yummy lunch, and adult conversation (no one got a time out or asked me "Why?" 47 times) I got home to a surprise date night!  Luke had gotten tickets to the Padres game that night.  So we packed dinners, the diaper bag, and the kids in the car & headed out for a night on the town.

Thanks Dean & Candi for a fun filled day!

So nice.

AWANA comes to an end

Bennett has been doing AWANA for the past year.  His first night he ventured into the room reluctantly with tears & now he can't wait until the next Monday comes.

Unfortunately, AWANA ended this month.  But he will be a "Cubbie" (pre-K) again in the fall!

I snuck inside the room on his last night to take a picture of the class.

To celebrate all of the kids' hard work, they had an awards night & family celebration.

It was so special & Bennett was so happy.

Autumn being patient through the ceremony

The kids did a performance for everyone.  They sang a few songs with hand motions.  Bennett actually went on stage and did it!  We are so proud of him.  During the VBS performance last summer, he reluctantly went on stage, sat on the risers while everyone else stood, and hated the whole thing.  The last AWANA performance at Christmas time he didn't want to go on stage (and we didn't make him).  So the fact that he got up there this time, made us proud of his growth.

B's in the bottom row

And he had fun

Even did the sign language

The kids each got a certificate of completion and a bag of goodies.

Bennett with his friends (we know a few of their names now)

So proud

After the ceremony, they had a BBQ outside with lots of fun stuff.

They did a water balloon toss,

made cotton candy,

and had 3 AWESOME jumpies that Bennett has decided are the best!

Miss Alisa & Bennett

As we left B said, "I can't wait until VBS this summer!"

July won't come soon enough!

Things we enjoy

Drooling

Snowboarding with brothers

Being artistic

Riding bikes

Reading our Bibles (w/unicorns)

Being silly

Giving our parents date nights by staying at Pappy & Mammie's

Watching our neighbors roping

Dressing up in jewelry

Making playdoh dinosaurs

Hanging out in Mama's classroom

Eating popsicles

"Laxn' on the couch" with Daddy

Going on walks

Swinging

Another goodbye

The month of May also brought an end to MOPS.  My table of ladies was so wonderful this year.  I can't believe the year flew by that quickly!  Now there is a summer break and MOPS will start back up in the fall.  Already can't wait!

Saying Goodbye

We had to say goodbye to the Hattrup Family this month.  They moved back to Kansas. Mike & Ann joined our growth group this past year & it has been so fun getting to know them.  We had a little goodbye social at Evan & Desi's house.  We planned to play some hardcore kickball before dessert, but with the fires the air quality was quite poor.

Darcy, Me, Desi, Ann, Angela, Lorna (We missed Marisa)

Since having Coleman, I went back to work at the end of January.  Luke got a temporary promotion as a supervisor, so his days off switched.  Therefore we had to find childcare.  Luckily, Ann wanted to watch our kids on Mondays while both Luke & I worked.  

 It was perfect!  

The kids had such a great time playing with friends.  Mike & Ann are almost into the 3 kids club with us! They have an older boy, little girl, and a baby on the way. Taking care of 5 kids all 4 and under. 1 of them a baby. All the while being pregnant!  Ann is a super mom!

We love the Hattrup Family!

Tyson & Bennett are only a couple months apart in age. 

Bradley & Autumn are only about a month apart in age.

Celebrating Moms

Happy Mother's Day!

My day was great.

It started with a good sermon and cute cards & flowers from all 3 of my kids at church.

Then we headed to sushi at Ahi Sushi! Yum!

We went home for naps and then it was off to dinner at Pappy & Mammie's house.

It is always fun to see family.

We gave Mammie these chalkboard pots

the kids reading with Aunt Darcy

The kids table (does the bench look familiar?)

After our yummy dinner we had Candi's chocolate mousse

Happy fam

All the mammas

My sweet family that makes me feel special!